That Dreaded Word
by Pantherstar
Summary: When a baby dragon witnesses the death of one of its own kind, it will not be easy to trust the species that killed it: humans. Will a young girl be able to change its mind? [Discontinued]
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

It was cold and dark.

_Where am I?_

Whatever kept it from moving was very hard and surrounded it on all sides.

_What am I? _

It tried to cry out but couldn't.

_What's going on?_

There was definitely a faint noise coming from outside of what it was trapped in. It let its beady eyes focus on the wall of its cage, and, very slowly, the wall seemed to melt away and it blinked at the many colors laid out before it in so many different shapes, sizes, and patterns.

It took a second to for it to realize that one of the shapes was moving. The creature had red scales that flowed over her body like frozen waterfalls. Huge wings were tucked against the even larger back, and small plumes of smoke puffed from her nostrils as she snorted.

_Dragon._

The word just popped into its mind. It had never heard the word, but it had just appeared there like magic. All of a sudden it knew that this majestic creature in front of its prison was called a dragon.

_Is that what I am? A dragon?_

Something about the words felt right. Yes, it must be a dragon too. The word seemed to start a small flame inside its body that chased a small amount of the cold away.

The dragon outside was still moving around, but now with more urgency, as if she actually had a purpose. She sniffed the air more often now, and the fourth time she froze, her deep blue eyes flaring in alarm. The dragon reared onto her hind legs, her front claws slashing at empty air.

_Huh? What's going on?_

Suddenly the brush on the left side of the dragon rustled, and something emerged. It was nowhere near as beautiful as the dragon. It was, in fact, sort of ugly looking. It stood upright on its two back legs, and it didn't have fur or scales, but an odd, brown fabric that only covered its main body, its arms, and its legs. The only place it did have fur was on its head, and even there had scarcely any.

The arrival of this new creature seemed to alarm the dragon. She roared in panic, rearing up again and letting her heavy tail swing dangerously.

The other creature didn't seem panicked. It pulled a bent piece of wood with a string tying the two ends together, then took out another piece of wood that had what looked like a sharp stone on one end and feathers on the other. It carefully fit the second piece of wood against the string, pulled back, and then…

A scarlet liquid spattered everywhere. The dragon roared in pain, dropping back onto all four of its feet. The liquid poured from a huge gash right below the dragon's chin and showed no signs of stopping. The dragon thrashed her tail in anger, but before she could harm the second creature, it repeated the same procedure and another piece of wood and stone pierced the dragon's skin. She let out another roar, but this time it was filled with sorrow. She teetered precariously on her feet for a moment and then fell to the ground.

She didn't get back up.

Shivering, the dragon trapped in its hard prison gazed at the creature who had felled the dragon.

_Human._

The word came just as the word "dragon" had, but this time it didn't make it feel warm.

Giving off another shudder, it knew that the word "human" could never be trusted.


	2. Carvahall

**CARVAHALL**

Trenna knelt down on the dusty ground beside her father's tent, watching people rush by in a massive crowd. Her father, Sern, was a traveling merchant, and she'd been to Carvahall countless times, but she still liked to observe the people and sights. Usually if she could spot someone her age, she was allowed to go talk and explore the other tents with them until dark since it was much more boring just lounging around.

Another group of adults passed by, and Trenna sighed impatiently. It was tiring waiting for other twelve-year-olds to show up, and she didn't have much patience. Watching her father sell interesting stones and gems wasn't exactly very fun. A little deception wouldn't hurt, she decided. She waved goodbye to Sern, pretending she'd spotted someone in the crowd.

Trenna easily slipped into the sea of people and then, when Sern was out of sight, squeezed out again and started toward the woods. She could climb trees until it was time for the merchants to pack their wares and leave for the next town and pretend that she'd spent the day with another person.

It was a short walk to the forest, and Trenna easily reached it within minutes. As she gripped a thick branch, she enjoyed the feeling of the rough, bumpy bark beneath her fingers. After hoisting herself up, she reached for the next branch, and before long she had worked her way up the entire tree.

The view was breathtaking. Trenna could see the tents, now just dots, with tons of even tinier specks around them. She could tell which blue dot was Sern's tent, and she could just barely make out Sern himself. Trenna hoped business was going okay; they hadn't had much money for a while now. She turned her attention to the forest floor. Maybe she could help by looking for things that her father could sell.

Trenna gripped a branch and swung down from the tree, hitting the ground with a soft thump. Dead leaves crunched under her feet as she tramped through the forest, glancing down at the ground every so often to see if there was anything interesting. The scenery was beautiful; Trenna loved the peaceful look the autumn leaves gave the environment as they floated down like small birds. She reached up to touch one, an orange maple leaf fluttering down from one of the tall trees, but a split second before it reached her hand, she jolted back at the sound of cracking twigs.

Slowly, Trenna turned around. Since she was a trader's daughter, she'd been told thousands upon thousands of times that not everybody in the world meant well. Sure enough, the bushes behind her were rustling, and it definitely wasn't the wind. An unearthly stillness filled the air. Trenna wanted to do something, anything, to break that stillness, but it was as if her feet were glued to the ground; she couldn't move.

It happened so fast Trenna didn't have time to react. The man was upon her within seconds, and she was helpless, pinned to the ground by his strong arms. His rancid breath hit her as he opened his mouth.

"Hello," he said quietly. Trenna shivered; his voice was very smooth and calm, as if he was sure he'd be getting what he wanted very soon. She observed him, trying desperately to figure out what he wanted with her. An icy chill crept over her like a gust of wind when she recognized his uniform: he was part of Galbatorix's army.

"Don't be alarmed," he told her in the same, silky voice. "I just want to know if you have any…information for me."

Now Trenna was really frightened. What kind of information did the soldier mean?

"Tell me, have you seen anything that looks like this?" He produced a small piece of paper from his pocket and stuck it in her face.

It was a photograph. The picture showed a smooth, rounded stone. The stone was radiant silver in color, and it shone brightly, reflecting the light of the sun. Trenna could tell it was the kind of stone that Sern would be able to sell for a lot of money.

"No…I haven't seen it," she finally stammered. To Trenna's horror, the soldier put a hand on the dagger at his belt.

"Are you sure?" he asked coldly, the prying softness of his voice now entirely gone.

She gulped and nodded. _Why can't he just go away? Hasn't he interrogated me enough? _

A sigh of relief escaped her as the soldier removed his hand from the dagger's handle. He stood up, freeing Trenna. "Just remember, if you see anything that looks like that, let me know. I'll be in Carvahall's tavern until late tonight."

Trenna watched, still rigid with fear as the soldier disappeared back into the depths of the forest. She could feel her eyes darting about, her ears alert for any more sounds that shouldn't have been there. _What if there are more of them out there? _Unnerved by her encounter with the man, she decided to climb another tree. That way she could make sure there were no more soldiers, thus calming her nerves.

She climbed another tree, more shakily than before. _There aren't any more of them, _she told herself sternly. _You won't see any soldiers when you look around from the top of the tree. _Her breath came in short gasps as she climbed from branch to branch, higher and higher up the side of the maple tree that the orange leaf had once been a part of. Once at the top, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes to the world around her once more.

There was no movement among the vegetation below. Trenna sighed with relief, wiping drops of cold sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. It was all okay now. There were no more soldiers to pin her down and trap her like an animal. She didn't think she could handle that again. The feeling of helplessness…it was like nothing she had ever experienced, and it hadn't been in a good way.

_I'm glad that over. Now I can go back to Carvahall, and with all the traders it'll be impossible for that to happen again. _Much more carefree and lighthearted, Trenna started her descent. She was just deciding that she'd help Sern for the remainder of the day when she felt the palm of her hand brush against something. She looked down and immediately and icy chill crept over her.

It was a magpie's nest. Sern had taught Trenna long ago that magpies were greedy little birds that were attracted to anything shiny. If even a small shimmer caught their eye, they would snatch up whatever item was reflecting the sunlight and take it back to their nests, which served as not only their homes but a sort of treasure trove. Her father had been absolutely right. There was an assortment of gleaming objects sitting on the floor of the nest: bits of glass, a small length of twine, even a diamond ring that Trenna recognized as Sern's friend's. But what had really caused her to shiver was what was sitting the center of the pile: a smooth, round, polished stone that was dyed a beautiful shade of silver.


	3. Decisions

**DECISIONS**

Countless emotions swirled around inside Trenna, and she couldn't lock onto just one of them. She was mad because of her dumb luck at finding the stone, but curious about what it was and why Galbatorix wanted it. She was scared because of the leering soldier still fresh in her mind, but pleased that something exciting was finally happening in her life. She felt unnerved at the mysteriousness shrouding the stone but was also entranced by its beauty. All of these emotions seemed to create a new one that had never before existed until now.

Then Trenna hesitated. She was a good liar. She could easily pretend she'd never seen the stone except for in the picture the soldier had shoved in her face. Whatever the stone was, she could just leave it there and it would end up being someone else's problems.

_I should, _her anger, fear, and nervousness told her inside her head. But at the same time her curiosity, pleasure, and admiration told her _Take it. Bring it back and hide it somewhere. No one will ever know._

The sky was dimming and Trenna was still in the tree, trying to decide what to do. Sern would come out to look for her if she didn't figure it out soon. Trenna snapped a small twig off from the branch beside her, then cautiously prodded the stone with it. There was no reaction.

Taking a deep, Trenna reached forward and snatched up the stone in one swift movement. To her surprise, it was very warm, as if it had been in the sun instead of in the shadows of tree branches.

_Sern can sell it. We'll make some money and be rid of it for good, _she told herself firmly as she worked her way down the rest of the tree. There was no way she was hiding it. It would only cause her and Sern trouble, more trouble then just economic problems. If Galbatorix wanted it, then it had to be dangerous in some way. Even if it wasn't, the army would come after her. Once again, Trenna shuddered at the memory of the soldier, still fresh in her mind.

After Trenna was back on solid ground, she hurried back towards Carvahall, her eyes darting away, every sense alive, ready to react immediately if another soldier appeared. She escaped the woods without any trouble but didn't allow herself to relax until she'd passed through a throng of people again, who were leaving the now closed trading tents.

Sern's tent blended in perfectly with the dark blue of the now starry sky. Trenna wouldn't have seen it if Sern hadn't been standing in front of its flap, packing up his wares.

"So, who'd you spend the day with this time?" he asked as she approached, the stone hidden in the pocket of her holey jeans.

"Oh. I, er, played with, um…" Trenna desperately searched for a name in her head of someone she'd met here in the past. "Micha," she finally said, having given up and creating a name. "I just met her today, she's great."

Sern nodded, not seeming to notice how Trenna had stumbled over the words.

"Did you make any money today?" Trenna asked, buying time as she tried to think of a believable story of how she'd acquired the stone in her pocket without mentioning that Galbatorix was searching for it.

A smile crossed Sern's face. "Yes, I finally sold that ruby. Made quite a bit off of it too," he added, holding up a handful of crowns.

"That's good," Trenna replied, shuffling her feet. _Come _on_, you've had to come up with harder stories than this!_

Sern dropped a sapphire into his deer-skin pack, then studied Trenna for a moment.

"You're not as…talkative as usual."

Trenna was tongue-tied. _C'mon, c'mon, think of something… _She searched her mind over and over, but still couldn't think of anything convincing to say. Running through her mind once more, she found the truth. At the back of her head was a small voice.

_Trenna, stop lying to yourself. You don't want the stone to be sold away. You want to keep it. It has to be special if Galbatorix wants it so badly. _

Trenna's hand immediately flew to her pocket. The stone was still there, a heated lump against her leg. Normal stones weren't this warm, not even when they were in a cozy pocket. She squeezed her eyes shut, pondering what to do.

"Trenna?" Sern looked very concerned now.

Trenna's eyes snapped open. "I'm fine. It's nothing, Micha and I just didn't find much to do." She'd made her decision. There was no going back now.

Her father looked sympathetic for a moment, then went back to packing.

Trenna found it essential to hide the stone as quickly as possible. She found her own pack, stowed away behind Sern's stall, then stuffed the stone inside, figuring she'd do something with it later. Perhaps it would be useful when she actually discovered what it was.

"Come help me take down the tent!" Sern called from the front of the stall, where he was still standing.

Trenna obediently dashed to assist her father, sure that the stone would be safe in her pack, out of sight.

If only she'd known that stones as special as hers wouldn't find an obstacle as flimsy as a deer-skin pack to be a problem.


End file.
